Chasing Perfection

Great piece by Dustin Curtis: 

Dell has found itself in the midst of a confusing transition. It is caught between two markets that are dramatically changing. Consumer PCs are dying. Enterprise IT problems are being solved increasingly by “cloud-based” solutions using generic or custom-built equipment. The future viability of Dell’s hardware products, which already have razor-thin margins, does not look great.

To summarise: Dell needs to evolve or die. 

I don’t know what to say. This is a genuine Microsoft video. It’s not even April 1st. 

It’s stupid, it’s dumb, it’s insulting. 

What the fuck? 

• Apple paid $250,000 to join the FLA, and is paying for its audit.

That’s commitment. 

The judge said police had not proven that the 38-year-old had enough assets remaining to help him flee the country. 

It’s coming. 

And it’s not just the movie companies. The music industry does it too. 

Matt Gemmell, on piracy:

When honesty becomes too difficult, dishonesty is easier.

The majority of people have a basic desire to be honest - and I mean actually honest, rather than some limited definition based strictly on the law. People will go to reasonable lengths to be honest. It makes us feel good about ourselves, and it confers a certain immunity from legal problems.

But then you fuck us. First you fuck us with exorbitant pricing. Then you fuck us with inconvenience by not making your content universally available when we want it. Then you fuck us by treating every paying customer like a criminal.

Fucked by money, fucked by convenience, and fucked by judgement. We know that you hate us, and you’d better be aware that we absolutely hate you too.

So, since you pushed us too far, we decide to fuck you back, by “stealing” your content. In return, we get a better experience all round than if we’d actually purchased it on your primitive spinning discs or in your Orwellian DRM-encumbered digital formats.

When will these companies understand? It’s ridiculous. 

Great resource for aspiring new iOS developers. 

If you’re into this sort of thing, or just want more iOS resources, I suggest checking out Design Then Code by Mike Rundle. $40 is peanuts for this great set of resources. If you can design but can’t code, or can code but can’t design, it’s $25 for either the Photoshop or Xcode tutorials and resources separately. 

Foxconn said that salaries for many workers would immediately jump by 16 to 25 per cent, to about $US400 ($373) a month, before overtime. The company also said it would reduce overtime hours. 

Apple announced last Monday that the Fair Labor Association, a nonprofit group, would provide independent audits of its supplier factories in China and elsewhere. Apple said the group’s findings would be made public. The association began inspecting Foxconn operations in China this week. 

The Fair Labor Association starts inspecting Foxconn operations in China the same week that Foxconn raises wages for the workers in its Chinese factories. Interesting timing.  

Coincidence or not, it’s certainly overdue. 

This shows that iOS really is a brand new kind of success for Apple. These kind of numbers are hard to fathom. Luckily, Horace’s graph helps.